State Lands Commission Analysis Definitively Determines PXP’s New Oil Drilling Agreement
is Unenforceable

Jordan Calls on PXP to End Plans to Drill off Calif. Coast

Rejecting claims that the “new” Plains Exploration and Production (PXP) oil drilling agreement would end offshore oil drilling off the Santa Barbara County coast, the State Lands Commission staff has reviewed the proposal and concluded in an official memorandum that its terms and benefits are not enforceable.

In specific, the memorandum concludes that the drilling is likely to continue beyond the end dates, that decommissioning and removal of the platforms is unlikely to occur, that it creates an unnecessary and increased risk of an oil spill, and sets a negative precedent for new federal leasing off the California coast.

On May 3, after viewing the tragic ongoing events in the Gulf of Mexico, Governor Schwarzenegger withdrew his support for Texas-based Plains Exploration and Production Company’s (PXP) controversial plan to expand offshore oil drilling off the Santa Barbara coast. Had PXP’s proposal been approved, it would have reversed California’s longstanding ban against new offshore oil leasing in state waters and been the first new offshore oil lease since the 1969 blowout fouled the Santa Barbara coastline.

“I have always opposed the PXP oil drilling plan on the basis that its promise to end offshore oil drilling was unenforceable and that the massive increase in new drilling and extraction would place our coastal economy, our marine wildlife and our beaches at the risk of a devastating oil spill,” said Susan Jordan, founder of the award-winning California Coastal Protection Network and candidate for the 35th Assembly District.

“Why would I reverse 40 years of California’s long-standing ban against new drilling and accept a promise from an oil company that joined BP in a fight against stronger drilling rig protections that might have prevented the devastating oil spill that occurred 40 miles off the coast of Louisiana and now threatens the Florida Keys?” Jordan asked.

PXP had recently announced a “new agreement” that it claimed resolved all the concerns that led to the State Lands Commission’s initial rejection of the project in January of 2009. This new staff analysis, undertaken at the request of Controller John Chiang, forcefully concludes that the concerns that led the State Lands Commission to deny the project in January of 2009 remain unresolved:

“In light of the continued risk of an oil spill from the proposed Tranquillon Ridge leases, the potential encouragement of new federal leases that could be caused by approval of a new state lease, and the lack of assurance that production from the federal leases will end as provided for in the April 6, 2010 agreement, staff concludes that, apart from its publication, the new agreement does not cure the factors that led the Commission to determine that the proposed leases were not in the best interests of the state.
-- SLC Memorandum to SLC Commissioners, dated May 18, 2010

Jordan, an award-winning environmental leader, opposed the PXP deal from the start.  The issue has become a contentious one in her race for the State Assembly seat.  Her opponent in the Democratic primary, Das Williams, who had earlier pledged to support Jordan, cited her opposition to the PXP Tranquillon Ridge proposal for new oil drilling as the key reason for making an about-face entry into the race. Even after the tragic events in the Gulf continued to unfold, Williams reaffirmed his support for the PXP oil drilling deal to the Ventura County Star, saying he was “happy” to continue to support it.

Despite intense political pressure during the last two years to support the PXP proposal, Jordan has consistently stood her ground.

“Support for PXP’s drilling plans has placed vulnerable coastal communities like Carpinteria and Goleta at increased risk for new, expanded drilling. We need a strong united voice against any and all new offshore oil drilling off the California coast. It’s time to reaffirm California’s longstanding policy against new offshore oil drilling, send PXP’s oil drilling proposal back to Texas, and move toward a renewable energy future,” she concluded.

For the Ventura County Star story, go here.

For the story on Calbuzz, go here.